Team Legacy

Today we have the pleasure to feature the first guild on GW2Fans! Team Legacy was hand-picked by our staff as they are one of the few guilds we have high expectations for. We interview Freelancer, guild leader of Team Legacy, to learn more about his ambitions for the guild and Guild Wars 2.



Could you tell us a bit more about yourself, Team Legacy and your role within the guild?

Sure. My name is Mike Foster. I currently work for Amazon.com. During my free time play a variety of games, but have always found myself lost in MMOs specifically. I spend a lot of my free time developing the community aspects as well, and for those like myself, this goes far beyond just playing a game with friends, I've lost myself in the thrill of being the best at each and every game I came across. It takes a particular mindset to actually reach that goal, one that I feel many yearn to reach but never truly push themselves enough to make it. I created Team Legacy to encompass that gaming spirit, and to find other like-minded individuals.


How was Team Legacy born? How long has the guild been around and how many members do you have now?

Team Legacy was founded in June 2010 with the idea that there exists a particular type of gamer that may or may not be experienced, but has made the decision that with regards to Guild Wars 2, our premier game; they wish to put all of their best efforts forward, to become something worthy of being noted. We started initially with that simple idea to see if our unique structure was possible, and quickly became something a lot more. We realized that coming out of the woodwork there were a lot of other mature, highly apt gamers who shared the same idea. Many interviews, server expansions, growing pains, and fiscal developments later we're now one of the biggest names in Guild Wars 2 to date. It takes a lot of hard work; I'm certainly not alone anymore. We have had over 350 applications since our launch exclusively for GW2, and have since accepted 73 as of this writing. We have set a reputation of holding very high standards of conduct of our guild members, even before launch, and therefore continue to choose very carefully. We have even hired a few staff members as well to work on a few behind the scenes projects for the guild and community.


What type of people are you looking for to enforce your guild? Do you have any specific requirements?

First and foremost, we look for integrity. This is followed by intelligence and general attitude. Due to the fact we are also encouraging an intelligent, heated, PvP forum environment, we also specifically look for particular aptitudes in reflex, social, and multi-tasking concepts. Our recruiters come from a variety of different games to cover all angles, and we have networked with staff from other sites such as QQ, Arenajunkies, and others to crosscheck the applicant statements on a regular basis. The relationship has been fruitful, and while it is always saddening to see promising applicants thrown to the dragon pit, it has also kept everyone honest. We do not pretend to know everything about every MMO to date, but we use a system that ensures at the very least the recruits brought in meet a level of maturity and intelligence we deem capable of being molded, or guided in PvP arena and WvW formats. Specifically, we ask that all applicants have Teamspeak installed and ready, and have a proven internet connection. Generally due to our speed of progression, most applicants need to be of the above average IQ range to feel a part of the guild, and generally be able to keep up. Those applying for our official competitive team go through a different contract process entirely, due to the monetary issues involved.


What is your goal in GW2, both personal and guild?

My personal goal is to provide a consistent and fun tournament league that works with, or circumvents the system ArenaNet is setting up for the userbase. As a guild, we are setting up the structure, and have the funding to provide a series of tournaments, each providing a modest prize pool. Through friends at teamliquid.net, we have also set ourselves up with some very well-known casters such as djWHEAT to help promote the community, and E-Sports overall. It's an ambitious goal to be sure, I have a lot of people helping.

The goal of the guild has undergone a lot of changes, and what started as a simple guild, simple discussion board has grown to a much larger, worldwide source for anything regarding news on Guild Wars 2. We provide a unique and interesting discussion that surpasses a lot of other forums, mainly because we are very strict on the quality of content posted, and take care to get rid of any "fluff". Aside from the forums themselves, we have a lot of database work being done to set us up for being an excellent site for anyone to catch up on the latest in Guild Wars 2 E-Sports. While the latter is still in development, we are also organizing an exciting venture we call the "TL Academy" that will host everything from forum guides, videos, all the way up to live coaching, for aspiring players that share our drive, but may not necessarily be a part of the Team Legacy guild. It will be structurally layered to provide the casual player with the basics, all the way up to content that even our own guild members themselves work to grasp fully. This will be done both in a cost free manner, and a much more personalized premium manner, as to mitigate the player's weaknesses in a much more efficient way if they so choose. In either case, we hope for it to be an invaluable source for players looking for something a bit more in-depth than your run of the mill wiki, or video guide. It's a lot to take in, but all of our members are excited, especially those working on it :)


Do you have a specific achievement or goals or plans you want to accomplish, in the first few days to months after release?

Of course! In the first few days, starting with our launch party being held in Chicago, we are forming what we call the "L.A.U.N.C.H." team. Their main goal is to deliberately forego a lot of the normal instances of starting the game and heading to key areas to claim some world first youtube videos and titles. I have done this in previous guilds in Warhammer and Aion, with great success. It was a ton of fun, and I see no reason not to go forth with the concept again. We also have very intertwined and specific sets of plans to quickly and efficiently manage our time and players to control and dominate WvW for our server. Even now, every week, we train and go through extensive TeamSpeak meetings to prepare and share information for those situations.


Long-term will be based on the WvW scene in general, and as expected, will not be planned out until we receive more information on the structure. Politics with other guilds as well as strong meta-game theorycrafting starts taking a huge chunk of our time at this point. In regards to the Arena teams, who play at most times separately from the rest of the guild, they will be well on their way to representing us in that scene. By a few months in we will also have launched our first tournament, and did our best work in getting to know the other major teams and players in the field.


Where do you see Team Legacy being 6 months after release?

It's hard to say. Under any circumstance I can easily see us being a model for other guilds to follow. In most respects I would hope that we end up working with those guilds to better themselves as well. You have to consider that ArenaNet is shaping this game to be a server vs server ordeal, so while many guilds are concentrating on better developing themselves, we would have graduated past that point and moved on to solidifying our server position on the charts. We want other servers, guilds, and players to know that if they are paired up against our server in WvW, they will be in for a challenge. Even today, we plan and strategize tactics and military philosophy with all of our members. Coordination and organization is key, and as any guild member can tell you, we do not cut any corners. Within 6 months we will be a reputable and feared legion by many accounts.


What are your expectations for Guild Wars 2? Will it be just another MMO on the market or do you think it will be worth the hype?

I fully trust ArenaNet to be able to deliver on most points. I have to admit, I am a bit worried that they will not effectively be able to match the likes of Armory, but I'm sure with the tools already being made available on tablets, and via the web, they will be able to match the excitement in most respects.


Is there any specific feature in Guild Wars 2 that the majority of members are excited for?

Most of the guild hears about the glory days of DoaC and the great sieges in WAR but many never experienced anything like that, so most members are looking to re-live those moments. Many others including myself are more concerned with the Arena-based scene and how it will envelop as time goes on. We have a very specific plan on how we want to launch our competitive teams, including our sponsored team, and it relies heavily on event structure and schedules. For example, if PAX picks up a GW2 tournament. example. This is of course all reliant on the tools available to casters, and how much support is given from ArenaNet on that particular area of the game. I am optimistic.


What are your thoughts about guild unity when you’re able to switch servers and guilds at any given time, will it be harder to keep your guild together? To what extent will you allow these feature?

We have no use for server switching, and we generally do not allow a guild member to join multiple guilds. The exception of course are those with casual friends, or just plain silly guilds to mess around in. We have the set schedule and membership base to cover all bases efficiently and effectively for our needs, whether it be PvE or PvP. the wonderful thing about launching a guild so far in advance is that we've ironed out the issues with these specific questions long in advance, to the complete satisfaction of our members and future recruits.




What is your guild doing to prepare for Guild Wars 2? Anything to keep yourselves occupied before the launch?

I think this area is where we currently outshine most, if we could take such a title. Community is everything to us, without it there can be no harmony between guild members, and without harmony, there cannot be any organization. We encourage forum use, and in some cases require input on polls and topics covering guild structure and recruitment. More importantly, we consistently promote a "game of the month" that generally is free, or recently become easy to acquire. Our guild even pays for most members in cases, we're that serious. For example, our game this month is League of Legends. Currently you can find 40-60 members online in Teamspeak during the nights playing together, laughing, and generally just having a good time, and even more after our podcast "Tales of Tyria". TF2, Starcraft2, BC, and many others have been included in these all-guild events, and we always look for new ideas. I feel this is a vital part to the cohesion of four guild, and I fear that many guilds do not focus enough on this aspect. We may take our gaming a bit more serious than the average joe, but there is not a soul in the guild that has not met, laughed, or shared a moment with another guild member so far. It’s a good feeling to know there is always a ton of people online ready to play any game, and these are the same people who will share victories with you later in GW2. You will know their strengths, weaknesses, ups and downs, and more than anything, develop a bond. These bonds will persist through wins and losses alike, and cumulatively builds respect for the the guild as a whole.


Thank you very much for the interview. We wish you and Team Legacy the best of luck in completing your goals. We will definitely invite you for a follow-up interview to see how things are going after launch!

Once we get into game, get ourselves situated we definitely will follow up with everyone here. Personally I remember when we launched over a year ago, this was one of the first sites ever we posted on. The layout has changed so much since then, but one thing that has not changed is the friendliness of Laida and her staff, despite all of the stress sometimes. Thanks for having us GW2Fans. :)